Once again, the Port of Holyhead for the fifth full day remains closed to ferries, causing severe disruption to freight hauliers and passengers on the vital Ireland-UK route and leading to knock-on effects elsewhere, writes Jehan Ashmore.
It was on Saturday during Storm Daragh, an incident caused weather infrastructure damage at Holyhead Port, where Irish Ferries and Stena Line jointly use a ferry jetty. The North Wales port, which is operated by Stena Line, has again deferred the reopening date. The latest announced date is set for tomorrow (13 Dec) with the port closed until at least the afternoon at 1715.
As each day passes, the impact on trade is increasingly compounded in the lead-up to the festive period, as there are concerns that certain goods could be impacted by not being available and delays to vulnerable fresh food products. Also complicating the situation is Brexit, given customs regulations do not easily facilitate ferries that have been redirected to other ports.
Both Irish Ferries and Stena Line, in the meantime, have been forced to redeploy ferries from Dublin Port to those in Wales and England to alleviate ‘freight’ traffic with trucks and unaccompanied trailers at both ports. As previously reported, according to the IRHA on Monday, it would take hauliers up to four days to clear the backlog following cancelled sailings.
According to the Department of Transport, however, there is currently no congestion at Dublin, and together they have been in constant contact, monitoring the situation, and have liaised on a contingency plan to avoid and reduce the possibility of congestion arising in the capital or surrounding transport routes.
While at the Port of Cork, which does not have any direct sailings to the UK, it has indicated there is capacity to operate one sailing a day, possibly running two based on scheduling. As for the medium term, if necessary, solutions are also under consideration.
In addition, there will be increasing levels of passengers from next week and into the festive season. As such, with the constantly changing developments on routes between Ireland and Wales, passengers are advised to consult their ferry operator, as the information below is correct at the time of writing.
Irish Ferries have cancelled all sailings today on the Ireland-Wales route; however, customers can be accommodated instead on the Isle of Innisfree sailing from Rosslare to Pembroke and vice versa on the southern route. In addition, all sailings are cancelled tomorrow (13 Dec) with the exception of Ulysses (W.B. Yeats see update below) departing Dublin at 2055 and arriving in Holyhead at 0020 the next day.
For the latest sailing updates, click here.
Likewise, all Stena Line sailings are cancelled today, though tomorrow (13 Dec) the operator has just a single sailing by Stena Adventurer departing Dublin at 22:30 and arriving in Holyhead at 02:00, but no sailings whatsoever will return to Ireland that same day.
For the latest updates, click here.
As Afloat reported yesterday, Stena Adventurer sailed from Dublin and last night was offshore of Fishguard but was waiting until the departure of the route’s Rosslare-bound ropax, Stena Nordica.
It transpires Stena Adventurer was the first ferry to assist in remedying pressure on freight congestion as it was carrying trucks held up in Dublin Port. Its presence in Fishguard was notable, given the ferry was the largest ever to berth at the South Wales port also operated by Stena Line.
Overnight, the Stena Adventurer sailed back to Dublin to discharge freight and then briefly was in the bay before setting off this mid-morning bound for Holyhead. At lunch-hour the ferry arrived at the port, albeit at the former Anglesey Aluminium/later Orthios recycling jetty that is adjacent to the ferry terminal and has since departed this afternoon for Dublin.
While a former Rosslare-Cherbourg ferry that was withdrawn from the route in October, Stena Vision, was also reported to have made an appearance in Dublin Bay last night before calling to the capital. The ferry has since completed a sailing to Holyhead this afternoon, having arrived at the same non-ferry berth where Stena Adventurer had occupied. It is not known as to the reason for both these calls.
Its route partner, Stena Estrid, the leadship of the E-Flexer class, also sailed overnight with freight from Dublin bound for Birkenhead, where it arrived at around noon on Merseyside, where the operator also has a route to Belfast.
As Afloat reported earlier this year, Stena launched a new freight-only service to the Irish capital following the closure by P&O Ferries almost a year ago but from Liverpool. This longer-distance central Irish Sea route is served by the chartered Bore Song, whereas P&O had run ropax twins, so this is a first for Stena by having a two-ship service, albeit temporarily.
Yet another morning departure from Dublin involved Irish Ferries Ulysses so to vacate a berth for W.B. Yeats prior to a routine departure this afternoon bound for Cherbourg. The Ulysses did not anchor in the bay but went offshore of the Howth Peninsula and arrived back to port late this afternoon, however, as the day progressed, the ferries notably swapped route roles. As Afloat can confirm, having observed this evening Ulysses depart on the French route instead, whereas W.B. Yeats remains in the capital, and it would suggest this ship is taking the sailing roster of Ulysses to Holyhead tomorrow night.
A fleetmate, James Joyce, was the third Dublin-Holyhead-affiliated ferry to make an overnight departure from the capital when it repositioned to Rosslare. The chartered ferry has joined the aforementioned Isle of Inisfree on the Pembroke route, but the additional ship is likewise assisting in carrying a backlog of diverted freight-only loadings with an arrival this morning also to South Wales.
The chartered ferry is now returning to Rosslare with an arrival tonight.
